Ten years ago, The Zombies made their first trip to Austin for the 2013 edition of SXSW. I saw them that year, and was impressed that this band that has been around since the early 1960s were making their way from showcase to showcase like a band of hungry young twentysomethings rather than the established legends of the early British rock scene that they are. Clearly they must have enjoyed it though, as they returned a couple of years after that and were back again this year, with a new documentary on the band airing as part of the festival and with an upcoming new album, Different Game, due out later this month.
Alongside a handful of other shows this week, the band played a headlining set at Stubb’s on Wednesday night, running through a set full of classics like “Tell Her No”, “Care of Cell 44” and “She’s Not There.” I took note of the fact that, ten years after seeing them for the first time, singer Colin Blunstone still sounds fantastic. A lot of singers seem to lose a bit of range after many years in the game, but Blunstone can still belt out those tunes much like he did in his younger days.
So yeah, to borrow a phrase from their 2015 album, The Zombies have still got that hunger. Or, to borrow a phrase from John Wick, the latest edition of which also premiered at SXSW, I’m thinking The Zombies are back. And they still sound pretty great.